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Martin Luther College Professor Rachel Feld is back in the guest host chair on WELSTech, bringing her thoughts on education technology to the discussion. We kick off a new book for the school year, Faithfully Connected, and we shake up our Ministry Resource for the week with STEM resources Pinterest-style!

The discussion:

New book discussion – Kicking off a new season of edtech talk, MLC’s Rachel Feld, Director of Academic Computing and Online Learning, is back as one of WELSTech’s semi-regular classroom technology correspondents, and she brought a book along to share. Read along with us as we discuss Faithfully Connected: Integrating Biblical Principles in a Digital World by Ben Boche and Jake Hollatz (available from Concordia Publishing House and Amazon). This week we learn why Rachel is using the book to train future teachers at MLC plus why she recommends it for teachers, pastors, parents and beyond, and we explore the first chapter of the book, Digital Access.

Community feedback:

Featured videos and more:

Coming up on WELSTech:

Episode 569 – Martin shares his research on digital security, including encryption and database management, in light of new regulations, both in the U.S. and abroad. Release date: Wednesday, October 3.

WELSTech-ers may recall a past Ministry Resource post on Common Sense Media, a site which features reviews and recommendations on all types of media which is directed at children including movies, books, TV, games, apps, and websites. It’s a great resource to share with parents, and can be very useful at this time of year especially as they shop for appropriate media-centric gifts for their children.

Education reviews

Common Sense Education is another site which is produced by the same organization and geared specifically toward educators. Once again, they provide ratings and reviews of children’s media, but this time the focus is on edtech websites and apps that are organized by grade level and subject matter. Search criteria can even be narrowed by price, so the frugal educator can easily identify free resources. For each tool listed, the Common Sense ranking as well as teacher submitted ranking is displayed. Each tool includes a description and overview of what it teaches as well as suggested lessons and activities plus standards supported.

WELSTech 502 is packed with awesomeness in the form of a new digital citizenship effort from Google for middle- and upper-elementary children. Plus, Sallie has graphic organizer templates, and Martin has helpful gesture shortcuts for Windows 10. Community feedback and a mission update round out the show.

The discussion:

Interland Flyby – Martin and Sallie look at a new release from Google, Be Internet Awesome, that boasts a curriculum and kid-friendly video game which can be used to teach all aspects of digital citizenship.

Google recently announced a free online resource geared toward middle- to upper-elementary aged children called Be Internet Awesome. The online game, Interland, as well as supporting curriculum resources, are intended to teach kids to be smart, alert, strong, kind, and brave online.

To make the most of the Internet, kids need to be prepared to make smart decisions. Be Internet Awesome teaches kids the fundamentals of digital citizenship and safety so they can explore the online world with confidence.

Application/audience

The resources available on the Be Internet Awesome are suitable for use in both the elementary classroom as well as at home. Teachers may want to spend some of their summer prep time reviewing the Be Internet Awesome Curriculum which has been given the ISTE Seal of Alignment. The materials center around five fundamental topics:

Share with Care (Be Internet Smart)

Don’t Fall for Fake (Be Internet Alert)

Secure Your Secrets (Be Internet Strong)

It’s Cool to Be Kind (Be Internet Kind)

When in Doubt, Talk It Out (Be Internet Brave)

Additional resources for schools allow easy integration of Interland on school Chromebooks as well as in Google Classroom. There are posters and certificates and badges available as well.

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